Expression of immune response biomarkers (PD ‑L1, p16, CD3+ and CD8+ TILs) in recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma within previously irradiated areas.

Expression of immune response biomarkers (PD‑L1, p16, CD3+ and CD8+ TILs) in recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma within previously irradiated areas. Oncol Rep. 2021 Jan 07;: Authors: Pflumio C, Thomas J, Salleron J, Faivre JC, Borel C, Dolivet G, Sastre-Garau X, Geoffrois L Abstract The immune landscape of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in pretreated areas remains poorly documented. We aimed to assess the tumor microenvironment for biomarkers of antitumor immune responses in tumors in previously irradiated areas compared with de novo tumors. This retrospective monocentric study analyzed 100 paraffin‑embedded surgical samples of invasive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, hypopharynx) from patients who underwent surgery between January 2010 and November 2017. We compared the immune microenvironment in 50 de novo tumors and 50 tumors recurring within irradiated areas. We used immunohistochemistry to assess p16 status, CD3+/CD8+ tumor‑infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and programmed death‑ligand 1 (PD‑L1) expression on tumor and immune cells in stromal and intratumoral components. CD3+ TIL counts were significantly lower in intratumoral and stromal components (P=0.003 and P=0.020, respectively) in the irradiated area cohort; there was no significant difference between CD8+ TIL counts in the two cohorts. The percentage of tumors with PD‑L1+ tumor cells (tumor prop...
Source: Oncology Reports - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Oncol Rep Source Type: research